1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to authentication, and more particularly to authentication of mobile communication terminals.
2. Discussion
Due to the development of information communication technology, the range and number of uses for mobile communication terminals have significantly increased. Particularly, due to the spread of smart phones including network communication and information search functionalities, such as in connection with the Internet, and/or the like, the use of various service applications installed and utilized via smart phones have rapidly increased. Among services provided by these service applications, exists a number of services (hereinafter referred to as “authentication-requiring services”) that request mobile communication terminal authentication (whether associated with the mobile communication terminal itself or a user of the mobile communication terminal) before permitting access to (or use of) some or all of the authentication-requiring services related to such service applications.
Conventional authentication procedures are rather burdensome. For instance, FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a conventional process to authenticate a mobile communication terminal to an authentication-requiring service. Referring to FIG. 1, a user may download, install, and execute a service application providing an authentication-requiring service (e.g., a mobile messenger service) via a mobile communication terminal in order to access the features and functionality of the authentication-requiring service (S100). When the service application is executed, the service application may determine whether or not the corresponding mobile communication terminal has been authenticated with the corresponding authentication-requiring service. If the service application determines that the mobile communication terminal has not been authenticated with the corresponding authentication-requiring service, the service application transmits an authentication request to a corresponding service server configured to authenticate the mobile communication terminal with the corresponding authentication-requiring service (S102).
Accordingly, the service server will receive and may store the authentication request in a memory of or associated with the service server (S104). To this end, the service server will generate and store authentication information to enable future authentication procedures with the mobile communication terminal or a user of the mobile communication terminal (S106). For instance, the generated authentication information may be a series of text, in which numerals and characters are combined with one another in association with a password scheme, such as a one-time or limited duration password scheme. As such, the generated authentication information is transmitted from the service server to the mobile communication terminal (S108). The service application will receive the transmitted authentication information, and thereby, output the generated authentication information via, for example, a display unit associated with the mobile communication terminal (S110). In this manner, the user of the mobile communication terminal may be apprised of the authentication information utilized to access a corresponding authentication-requiring service.
When the user confirms and subsequently inputs the authentication information output via a display unit associated with the mobile communication terminal (S112), the service application will cause the mobile communication terminal to transmit the authentication information input by the user to the service server (S114). The service server will compare the received authentication information with previously stored authentication information to effectuate authentication of the mobile communication terminal (S116). It is noted that the previously stored authentication information corresponds to the authentication information generated by the service server. As a result of the comparison, the service server may determine that authentication of the mobile communication terminal fails. As such, the service server will transmit an error message to the service application of the mobile communication terminal (S120). If, however, the service server determines that authentication succeeds, the service server will transmit authentication success information to the service application of the mobile communication terminal (S118). In this manner, the user will be permitted access to the features and functions of the authentication-requiring service via the service application.
Accordingly, it is noted that various kinds of services (e.g., social networking services, mobile messaging services, gaming services, and the like) exist, in which a first user via a first mobile communication terminal may initiate communications with a second user at a second mobile communication terminal. In such instances, the second user may perform the above-noted authentication procedure in response to receiving an invitation message from the first user who has already been authenticated with the corresponding authentication-requiring service. As such, the second user will select and execute the received invitation message to install the corresponding service application, and subsequently, perform the above-noted authentication procedure. Thus, the frequency of use of the authentication-requiring service and authentication procedure is high.
It is noted that even though the second user may receive and execute the invitation message to install the corresponding service application and perform authentication of an associated mobile communication terminal, the authentication procedure of the associated mobile communication terminal will be performed again once the second user attempts to access the features and functions of the corresponding authentication-requiring service. Therefore, even after the installation of the service application and the authentication of the mobile communication terminal to install the service application, subsequent authentication to utilize the authentication-requiring service is not automatically processed. In this manner, an action related to the invitation message (e.g., authentication of the second user to initiate utilization of the authentication-requiring service between the first user and the second user) will be executed, but in response to a separate request manually performed by the second user. That is, even in instances when information capable of identifying the mobile communication terminal is stored in the associated mobile communication terminal and the service server, the authentication procedure to authenticate the associated mobile communication terminal is not automatically performed using the information. Instead, the second user must manually initiate and perform the authentication procedure with the corresponding authentication-requiring service. This can be irksome and off-putting to some users, and thereby, diminish the desirability and likelihood that such users will avail themselves to the authentication-requiring services.
Therefore, there is a need for an approach that enables convenient authentication procedures that are more efficient and less burdensome on users of mobile communication terminals.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and, therefore, it may contain information that does not form any part of the prior art nor what the prior art may suggest to a person of ordinary skill in the art.